Flower arrangement by Mrs. Truly …

Last week flower arrangement by Shanthi different and nice …

And this simpler one …

Rajini style …

I got (actually bought) the Tamron 17-50, F2.8 lens recently. I was touting about this lens for a long time … I bought this sometimes back, but I did not have any time due to my work … Today I just though of posting this “Rajini style” of Anto … :) 

Down under there seems to be less money … or is it?

Recently I felt my career was moving well below the bottom of the OSI layer. I started my career poking around products like, drivewizard, swissknife, etc … All of these software extensively used the ASPI (Advanced SCSI Programming Interface), defined initially by Adaptec, now unceremoniously discontinued. Though these applications directly interacted with the storage media, they were user-land applications, privileged not more then the “internet explorer”. The IDE was VC++. My job-title was VLSI design engineer. And I was longing to be one, but was just happy or had no choice but to write these application. I got bored in 3 months time, and protested with the management, who were gracious enough to allow me to write firmware. I did not last long in this company, as the company of my dreams came calling … SCM Microsystems …

It was here, my real career started, I started working on Manufacturing test application, then I wrote WDM (Windows Driver Model) device drivers, and after toiling with drivers and applications for almost 2 years I started writing embedded software for 8052 based digital media readers. From then on, I wrote embedded software for more than 7 years, spanning SCM Micro, ROHM, EPSON, Canon, OMRON, … etc … until recently I started working on Image processing and very recently … VLSI design. Yes, 10 years after being offered a job as a VLSI design engineer, today I am designing (testing to be precise), some neat next generation hardware. I am a learner, and so it gives me immense satisfaction when I find that I am learning something new … Off course all satisfaction due to learning will make you happy if it helps your bank balance. The trend in India is, embedded software engineers are paid better than application developers, and VLSI design engineers are paid better than embedded software developers. I just thought that this trend might continue if I go even a step down, start working on ASIC backend … Placement and routing :) …

I was only shocked to learn that, in Japan, VLSI design engineers are not paid any more than embedded software engineers. And worse, some guys working with say, iPhone, earns more than a guy slogging with gates and verilog. So I was stuck … the satisfaction of this new education may not help my bank balance. But it gives me immense satisfaction, when I can say, I know how (High level software code) is turned into (Assembly language code), I know how the processor will react to the assembly language code, and I probably can implement the hardware to execute the assembly language code, and know the gate arrangement, … I wish I know the transistors that make-up all those gates … phoo … I have reached the bottom, almost …

When I was working for Onspec, I have often heard about this guy Larry Jones. I never got a chance to meet him though. I heard he made a whole working processor using transistors, and showed every engineer from the company who visited our US office. Back then I use to think, what a genius of a guy … Probably in some more time … yours truly is another Larry in the making … Thanks Shockley …

Happy aren’t they …

Yesterday, I was sitting in my office’s 4th floor cafeteria, which overlooks the office gates and an adjacent railway tracks. It was exactly 5:00 PM, and majority of the employees were already leaving. Thanks to the slowdown, companies no more allow any overtime, so employees are made to leave early. But for the big time manager others (are made to) leave. The railways tracks heads towards Kyoto on one side, and Nagoya on the other. I felt a bit nostalgic when I saw trains filled with people.

Many questions flashed, are those people happy to go home? How about their spouses? Do they actually go home? or hang around in cafe or a bar, before going home. Do they miss their overtime? Looking at their faces I could not tell anything. Probably the gates were very far for me to look at their faces. Anyway, as always they were all briskly walking out of the gates.

Looking at many people leaving, I was happy for them. Somehow I always thought, the Japanese missed out many things when it come to their family. They work very hard, and will be very happy when they are busy at work. They hate to be free, or leaving early. So it seems that the government made it mandatory for companies to mark a day or two in a week as no-overtime day. I only wish these people go home on those days, but most of them go straight to isekaya’s where they drink, drink and drink … till they are drunk and go home late. Probably well after their usual returning times. The government’s plan has helped those bar’s nonetheless …

For me, my company neither pays me overtime nor under pays me when I work for less than 8 hours. Its flexi-time and I always enjoy going late and returning back early :)